The Man From Nowhere

It was an overbearing hot August summer day. My younger brother David, and I were playing in the front yard, running back and fourth through the sprinkler with the neighborhood kids and having an intense water balloon fight. It was our way of keeping cool, all the while having fun and being young, enjoying life.

Mother was culminating the last bit of cooking in the kitchen for our neighborhood potluck we had twice every month. This time it was our turn in hosting the potluck at our house and mamma wanted everything to be perfect as always.

"Adeline, David!, come along inside the house real quick and help your father set up things for the potluck," my mother had insisted. I quickly dried off the water as best as I could and presided for the front door, at that exact moment is when I had briefly noticed him for the very first time.

He drove an Audi 5000s/Turbo with premium tinted windows. The only reason I had known this was because my father made his living as a car salesman at the local dealership for the past seven years. This man parked his car in the driveway of where Ms. Frazier lived and causally got out.

He was average built with slightly broad shoulders, and was a little bit taller than my father who stands at 6'1. His face was pleasant to gaze at, as well as his hair was jet black with hints of gray and silver here and there. He almost had this Cary Grant thing going on. He looked to be in his late thirties possibly early forties.

His eyes a dark shade of brown, yet a kindness gleamed through them, it penetrated my soul, you could say there was this mysterious aura about him. He seemed extremely confident from what I could gather, but I also felt that he was a very sad and lonely individual. But what do I know? I am only a thirteen year old girl.

The potluck was a major success! Practically the whole neighborhood was in our tiny cramped backyard by mid-afternoon. Everyone was feasting, laughing, and having what seemed to be a good time. But, all I could think of in the moment was him.

"Like, What is his name? Where was he from? Why was he here alone? What was he doing at Ms. Frazier's house? Does he have any family?" These were the thoughts that were frantically pouring out of my mind without the slightest bit of control. And to be honest, I was okay with it.

I snapped out of it when I had heard the door bell ringing. I opened the door and to my surprise there he was standing before me on my front porch. "Hello, are your parents home? I just moved into the old blue house over there on the corner across from the Peelers. I will be your neighbor for the remainder of the summer."

I stood there rather awkwardly. I was a statue Frozen in time for what seemed like an eternity (even though in reality it was more like a few seconds). That is until I mustard up the courage to speak the words in properly introducing myself.

"My name is Adeline Johnson. My father and mother are currently in the backyard with the rest of the neighborhood. Would you like to join us for our get together potluck? You could meet everyone in the process, as well as as have some of my mama's famous barbecue glazed ribs and cold macaroni salad? We even have cold beer and sweet tea."

He chuckled! "Perhaps, another time. Thank you for the kind gesture though Adeline." He slightly smiled at me, turned around, and walked away. Just like that he was gone! The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. I ended up going to bed earlier a little after the potluck was all done with and everyone had eventually went home.

Beep!, Beep!!, Beep!!!, the sound of my rambunctious alarm clock waking me up exactly at 5:35 in the morning was annoying to say the least. It was a constant reminder that I needed to roll my tired butt out of bed and start getting ready for work. I just wanted to lay in my bed for at least another couple of minutes and let my mind drift away. Hopefully, back to bed!

My morning routine usually consisted of being the first to get into the bathroom before anyone else, particularly my little brother. He always left the bathroom a mess! Everything seemed to always get wet, the toilet seat was constantly left up, there was toilet paper everywhere, the bathroom always stunk, and my bathroom towel always seemed to get used (which is totally annoying and disgusting if you ask me) from time to time.

Thank goodness! I was the first one into the bathroom this morning which meant, I could take a longer shower and not have to deal with my brother's mess. I also needed to hurry! I couldn't be late to work today. I had so much to get done. I was only working five hours today opposed to my usual eight and half hours. I worked Monday through Friday, and I always got the weekend off.

I had to open up for my mother's bookshop, as well as I needed to beat the random rain that we had this morning which was coming down somewhat mildly. Breakfast was buttery scrambled eggs on toasted wheat bread with avocado spread (weird I know), and very light American cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.

"Bye Mom!, Bye Dad!," I yelled racing for the front door with half uneaten breakfast still in my mouth. The rain with its rhythm was coming down heavy now. I had to hurry and grab my bike from the garage. I only had fifteen minutes to get to the shop before we officially opened up for the day. And we we were having discounts today. Which meant people lining up zealously for books and for the store to open.

"Where is my helmet?" I had thought to myself. Usually, it was right here next to my bike where I always left it. For some odd reason it was nowhere to be found though. David must have hidden it. He had been known to do that at times. The time on my watch displayed 6:10. No time to waste! I knew that I had to get going now.

Suddenly, that's when it all happened! Out of nowhere a bright beam of blue neon light came piercing through the tiny hole slits that were underneath our garage door. I tried kneeling down and seeing if I could see what was going on. I had no such luck though.

Feeling more curious than terrified, I decided to peak through the window that was just above the garage door. I popped my head out ever so slightly to see where the light had originated from. To my surprise it was coming from Ms. Frazier's house. I found it rather odd.

I got this weird feeling in my stomach that something might possibly be wrong. I decided to investigate for myself. I grabbed my bike and raced over to Ms. Frazier's house. I went around towards the back of her house, that way know one would see me or possibly recognize me, especially Mr. Anderson who is an extremely nosy little man who moved here from a place called Walla Walla.

Like a flying gymnast, I hurdled over the brown fence and conducted a stakeout in the middle of Ms. Frazier's garden. I knew that the little green moss covered shed in the front of her garden with creepy looking gnomes allocated everywhere would easily conceal me from being seen for the most part. At least I had hoped it would.

Five minutes went by and nothing had happened.

I was about to get up and head out from there, but to my surprise the back door had quickly opened. I got as low as I possibly could towards the ground and controlled my breathing. My heart racing beyond control. Two intimidating looking men wearing black suits with red ties came out of the house carrying a bright purplish and gold looking box.

"Just breathe Adeline, don't forget to breathe," I was calmly reminding myself. "Everything was going to be okay, no one had seen me and my cover wasn't yet blown." The two men entered the shed. A beam of blue neon light could be seen piercing from the back of the shed where the window was. This was the same blue neon light I had seen earlier from my garage.

A few minutes went by and I heard nothing but total silence. Seconds later, I saw him come out of the house in a calm cool demeanor. He walked into the shed and came right back outside carrying the same exact purple and gold box the two men had brought out from before. He went back into the house as if nothing had happened.

No time to think! Now was my chance!! I quickly launched myself out of the wet garden, leaped back over the fence, stumbled a couple of times towards my bike, which was completely soaked from all the rain, and took off like an uncontrolled speeding bullet headed towards town for the bookshop.

I was lucky! Hardly anyone was out and about today, due to all the rain that was pouring down with no regards to anyone. My mother would be in the shop in about an hour or two to check up on me, before heading out to her hair appointment with her beloved childhood friend Diana Rodriguez. The have been best friends ever since elementary.

It was pleasantly slow at the shop. I only had three customers in total, not including a super cute dog named, "Shasta" who came into today earlier with her owner who was a very tall man (I believe he had played in the NBA for a couple years). I cannot remember what team he played for though? I think maybe for the Lakers?

I rather enjoyed the slow days like today. It allowed me to catch up on everything at work, as well as fantasize about being a professional writer someday. Contriving books for the prestigious Thomas Nelson publishing house. And of course, one day becoming a New York Times best seller!

Truth be told, I am currently working on a novel book, possibly a short series novella about a young Jewish girl fleeing from Auschwitz. She encounters a special robot from the future who is from the North Star (also known as Polaris), and eventually becomes her best friend throughout the story. The book takes place during World War II.

Honestly, I have only showed one person a rough draft of my story though and that person is my dad. You could say I am a bit self-conscious when it comes to all my personal writing and story ideas. My father is a very understanding and upfront individual that I deeply trust. He always gives me honest and genuine feedback on all of my writing.

He had once even written a young adult fiction novel way before I was born. It actually had sold over 100,000 copies and received recognization from a few well known book authors around the world. You might have even read it before? It's called "The Tenacious Five." I personally have read it over and over at least a hundred times already.

I had such a deep yearning to write a book for some time and to be just like my father. Of course, after meeting my mother and having two kids things changed for my dad. He eventually got into the whole car business. My father constantly reminds me that he is very happy and content with his life. I know deep down to the core he misses writing it's a part of who he is.

And now I would like to think it is a part of who I am. It is a part of my identity.